But despite its reputation, the rhino has been at the receiving end of man’s greed for ages though it is protected under CITES (Convention for International Trade in Endangered Species for Flora and Fauna).

Over the years, its numbers have been greatly reduced by poachers. It’s only in recent years that a concerted effort by the Forest Department has seen the number of killings going down. According to the previous census of 1999, informs Park director N. K. Vasu, the number of rhinos at Kaziranga now stands at 1552, a steady rise from 366 in 1966. He agrees that the gap of six years between the censuses could have been shorter. But lack of adequate funds is a problem too and some programmes have had to be curtailed. There are 452 forest guards employed presently though the sanctioned number is 529. They man the 125 camps scattered across the forest to keep vigil. Theirs is a lonely task, but within the constraints, they are doing a commendable job. Last year, only three rhinos were killed as compared to 235 between 1983-89. However, while rhinos dominate, Kaziranga is also home to 882 elephants, 86 tigers, 1142 wild buffaloes, 5045 hog deer, 481 wild boars, among other animals, and a wide variety of birds.

There’s a saying in local language that the flesh of the deer is its greatest enemy. It could be true of the rhino’s horn as well. The unusual projection is nothing but a compact mass of agglutinated hair. But its reputation as an aphrodisiac, and as a prized ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine, has seen the animal being hunted down for centuries. The sexual prowess attributed to the horn could be a result of its resemblance to the linga (worshipped as Lord Shiva in India) or the phallus. Moreover, the copulation period of the rhino is much longer compared to other animals. The one-horned rhino is more in demand than the African two-horned black rhino, which is endangered too, according to K. K. Baruah, former principal forest conservator, Assam. In Yemen, it is fashioned into dagger handles, supposedly to lend power and strength.

At one time, the Indo-Gangetic plain had thousands of one-horned rhinos roaming around. The species, Rhinoceros Unicornis, is thought to be the mythical unicorn found in the earliest pictorial art of Mesopotamia. In the Indian subcontinent, a 3000 B.C seal belonging to the pre-Aryan Mohenjodaro civilisation shows a rhino inscribed on it. Even in Indian mythology, it is projected as a powerful animal fit to carry the supreme God, Vishnu, on its back.

The animal’s symbolic physical prowess has added to local myths as well. In Nepal, which has a pocket of rhinos, consuming its urine is supposed to cure diseases like asthma. In medieval royal families of Assam and neighbouring countries, cups made of rhino horn were in great demand as venom-absorbing qualities were attributed to them. And who doesn’t know that in palace intrigues poisoning was one of the commonest methods of annihilating unwanted members? Rhino horn rings were also worn by childless couples (perhaps to enhance fertility) and lunatics. In Assamese villages, water drunk from a horn was thought to be the ‘elixir of life’ and specially beneficial to pregnant women.

The horn’s reputation as a traditional ‘Viagra’ and the astronomical price it hawks in the international market, mainly South-East Asia, attracts poachers like a bear to the honey-pot. With time, the poachers became increasingly clever too, using sophisticated arms, even open-ended electric wires connected to high-tension cables to immobilise the unsuspecting animal. Sometimes they cut off the horn even before it was dead. Being a little distance from the foothills of the Himalayas with deep jungles and sharing international borders with Nepal, Myanmar, etc makes this terrain an easy getaway for the criminals.

The decades’ long insurgency problem in the North-East also saw an escalation in rhino-hunting, experts point out, with much of the money being used to buy arms and ammunition. Meanwhile, there has been a campaign by international bodies in South-East Asia too to prevent the horn’s use and allay the myth about its aphrodisiac qualities. Now as the years of efforts are at last wielding result, understandably the park officials are worried about too much density, which is also not healthy for the animal. Some have been relocated over the years in other parks like Pabitara, nearer to capital Guwahati, which has the highest concentration of rhinos in the world today at 76 rhinos spread over 16 sq.km. Even for Kaziranga, which is divided into four areas : Bagori, Kohora, Agatoli and Burapahar, space crunch is a problem now that poaching has been contained to a satisfactory extent, says Vasu.

Originally, the park was to have 860 sq. km area but only 430 sq. were covered. As the park is located near the north-south corridor National Highway 37 with heavy traffic and skirted by human habitation, it is a constant headache for the conservationists. Besides, it is important to have these encroachments removed as there are proofs that some poachers work in collusion with local villagers. When an attempt was made to retrieve the encroached areas it led to lengthy court cases. But now there has been some progress, though only 280 sq. km of the area has been retrieved, according to the Forest Ministry.

These areas go even beyond to the Brahmaputra’s north bank. Ace forest ranger Dhanidhar Boro, who has won recognition from the IUCN, the World Conservation Union, pointed across the white sands of the river to a village on the other side. His tale of how he tracked down a poacher by boat on a tip-off was like a real-life adventure story. His battle scars are evidence of some of the near-misses. But they also focus on the need to let Kaziranga have its legitimate area back. And let the rhino, a wonder of Nature, live in peace. As Boro says, "Nature never betrays you, we betray Nature." His words come from his grassroots experience. Something we tend to forget. TWF